the anthem [open]

[rival]

GRIFFON[/SIZE]

The yellow male padded slowly towards the open barn door, the hinges forever rusted into position until a heavy storm comes along and snaps them back to life. His heavily ruffed head hangs low and even, curled tail lowered and tongue lolling out from the heat. His black-rimmed eyes blinked slowly and semi-erect ears dropped slightly. He'd been hunting, and been unsuccessful. Dusk would be a better time to pursue a meal.

Griffon hated the city and everything in it - so he avoided it altogether. The Morigan Farm was quieter and there were no rotting bodies nearby as opposed to everything else. The brute hated humans for all they'd ever done to him and his family, but that didn't mean he wanted to see and smell their rotting corpses beneath his nose. That, and see their twisted bodies cowering in corners as he passes or hunch-backed males finger sharpened poles, their eyes glittering at the thought of a meal. Quite frankly he knew how to kill a human, but it didn't appeal to him as a hobby. He'd let the other packs deal with that for sure.

As his goldenrod body slid between the doors he sighed in relief, lowering himself onto the floor of the farther stall on the right. Typically he would have padded up the wooden ladder which leaned into the hay loft, but on a day like this he knew it would be stifling up top. Griffon listened to his surroundings for a time to be sure no one was around before his head lolled to the side and he lie flat on his side. The heavy brass clip on his leather collar stuck out at an odd angle, forcing him to shake his head for a moment to keep it from poking his neck. Within moments, he is sleeping, one ear kept high, though, to flicker for every sound as it passed.

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[xx. ROSIE]

FIVE

The silence was like death. Peaceful, yet, frightnening. The shadows stretched across an open field as a small, wirey dog scurried to the barn. This dog had many names, mutt, stray...but her actual name was Five. She was one of the smallest dogs in the entire city and was disrespected for her size. Her fur was a light, mocha brown and she had a black, saddle-like marking on her back. Her ears were flopped like a puppies and her paws were small and delicate. So, back to the moment.

Five was still young, but old enough to be an adult. As she rushed to get out of the soon to be storm. The place looked pleasant, a nice burgundy red, the hinges on the doors rusted, forever stuck in the same postion. They could be moved, if neccesary, but not with her force. Sighing, she sniffed the air for any scents of another canine who may have passed, or stayed.

She managed to catch a scent, newer and fresh. She felt like screaming, but maybe they had passed. As she continued to the doors, she still could smell the other dog. She could feel her own tension in the air as she went through the wooden doors, eyes scanning in front of her.

A goldenrod body caught her eye, in a stall. What were they, a horse? She rolled her eyes and wondered if she should say something...no. She didn't know this dog and it could prove fatal for her as he was huge! She she decided to lay down in the hayloft, but couldn't get up there, so she just laid down behind the ladder.

[rival]

GRIFFON[/SIZE]

Griffon had begun to drift, his breathing slowing to a constant rise and fall of slumber as his eyes began to flicker beneath his lids. A dream tugged at the corner of his mind and he saw puppies, yellow puppies in a back alley and people milled about as if on a crowded sidewalk. The sky was black though the world was lit and a child kept peering between adult legs. Griffon's nose extends and his lips curl because he knows the child, but it is not the human's scent that reaches his nostrils. It is that of a dog and none of it coming from the puppies. Griffon's ears flick and his eyes slowly creep open as reality tickles his senses. A female is nearby and coming rapidly closer. He does not rise from his relaxed position but rather waits to see if she will pass on. Perhaps she is chasing something. As a rumble of thunder sounds overhead, however, Griffon sighs inaudibly to himself. No hunting tonight. Plus, he knew where the female would soon be darting to escape the spring storm.

Griffon's yellow eyes open and his semi-erect ears flick about as the hay begins to rustle as the female enters. She freezes at some point and he knows this because the hay stops moving. She has seen him, but she soon moves further away to avoid him. The golden male rocks up onto his belly, shaking his head vigorously to rid himself of hay stuck to his cheek. His wide cranium swivels about as he looks for her and spots her beneath the ladder. She must have intended to go up the steps but obviously she was too small. She blended easily with the straw and ground around them, but her glowing eyes and demeanor did nothing to conceal her.

"Scared of the storm, are you?" he offers, his voice gruff and somewhat hoarse from his running previously. "Don't attack me and I won't attack you, fair enough?" he demands, his anti-social nature quickly taking over. His eyes are cold and linger on hers like a weary wolf eyes a cub. He'd never been anything but stabbed in the back by any dog or human, and he wasn't about to start loosening up now. He clamored to his paws before plopping back down against the stall wall. This way he can doze sitting up and the female would stay within his sights. She didn't seem agressive else she would have either attacked or demanded his attention. She had done neither. He outweighed her by at least one hundred pounds so he wasn't worried, but if she was in a homicidal pack that was looking for her, he could be in more than a little trouble.

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[xx. ROSIE]

FIVE

She quirked her eyebrows as the large male awoke from his peaceful sleep that she had interrupted. She turned and looked at him, observing him like he was a menace. Hi fur was a light shade of gold, like the sun setting on a sunny afternoon. His ears, were semi-erect and flicked as she entered the room. His eyes, were a nice, hazel colour, which she was quite fond of. "N...No..." She answered cautiously to his first question, still wary of this one. Right now, easily, he could rip her apart. Organ by organ, strand by strand. She shuddered, frightened now. But, the second comment soothed her fright. "No fight. Seems quite fair to me, actually." she barked, a small chuckle of amusement ringing in her soft tone.

"I'm um...Five." she replied, looking to her paws. She had never really been given a name. Born in a breeding kennel where money was everything, her mother had died in birthing and they had been fed by a stuck-up slob who only cared about the studs. Five sighed, looking back to this dog. "What's your name?" asked Five, flicking her ears as a small fly flew onto it. She seemed interested in this dog, quite interested. He seemed so...mysterious. Like something had happened, probabbly not, but if so, she wanted to know!

She looked around the barn. Sad, but a warm and dry place to sleep. She was actually...safe. She didn't think she had been safe.. ever.

[rival]

GRIFFON[/size]

The yellow male kept his back pressed again the stall wall and sighed, shutting his golden eyes for only a brief moment before the female responded. Her tone sounded relieved and she stammered out that it was perfectly fine with her. He snorted in acknowledgment glad that he had one less thing to worry about. His slid his eyelids down and released a quiet sigh, but his eyes soon snapped open again as she kept on talking. Why was she still talking? Had he offered to introduce herself?

A mildly annoyed expression came across his features but it was not visible in the gloom of the barn. he didn't mind, either, because it made everything cooler than the outside anyway. The large male scrutinized her closely, golden eyes narrowing as she looked to her eyes and mumbled her name. It was Five, she said, and she seemed embarrassed by that. Griffon scoffed at the name fully aware that she had been done wrong by humans as well it seemed. Unless her mother was some kind of heartless wench who didn't offer names then Five had had the interference of those pathetic monsters who seemed to think they ruled the world.

Griffon's irritated subsided just a little at this realization and he sighed again to try and relax. He could just see her from where he lie, her two toned back and had just visible above the yellow hay that surrounded her. "It's Griffon." he said, tossing his name gruffly to her. He didn't know what to think of this female who watched him so closely. He hoped by going along with her suddenly chipper interest he would not have gained himself a giddy tag-along for awhile. "Why's your name Five?" he asked her, though only to keep her from feeing put out by his lack of reaction. He wasn't completely heartless after all. He could at least be pleasant considering he hardly talked with other dogs anyway.

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